HONG KONG, July 25. /TASS/. The second phase of the Han Kuang military exercise, which involves live firing and a combat readiness check with regard to repelling a hypothetical attack by the Chinese People's Liberation Army, kicked off in Taiwan on Monday, the Taiwanese Defense Ministry said.
All types of troops, as well as army reservists, will take part in the five-day drills. The exercise began with the redeployment of fighter jets stationed in the western part of the island to an air base in its eastern Hualien county in order to preserve combat capabilities in case airfields on the western coast are disabled. On Tuesday, more than 20 ships, supported by aircraft, will participate in maneuvers aimed at repelling a potential attack by a simulated enemy near the port of Su’ao on the northeastern coast. One of the main goals of the exercise is to protect the port of Taipei from a potential attack by the Chinese army’s planes and helicopters.
Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post newspaper reported earlier that military tactics used in Ukraine would be taken into account during the current drills. According to the paper, Taiwan’s forces will particularly practice the tactics of using Javelin anti-tank missile systems and Stinger air defense systems, which are in service with the Ukrainian army. In addition, unmanned aerial vehicles will also be used in the exercise. The first part of the drills, which took part in mid-May, involved the practice of tactics based on the computer simulation of possible scenarios of armed conflicts. At the same time, a four-day air defense exercise for civilians will begin on Monday.
Taiwan has been governed by its local administration since 1949 when the remaining Kuomintang forces led by Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975) fled to the island after suffering a defeat in China’s civil war. Since then, Taiwan has preserved the flag and some other symbols of the Republic of China that had existed in mainland China before the Communists came to power. Beijing regards the island as one of its provinces and seeks full reunification, and does not exclude the use of military force against "separatist forces" active on the island.